The Tempest

Roles

• Ariel - Teenager (13-19), Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Male

About this piece

Ariel tells Prospero how he shipwrecked the ship

Summary

The play starts with a storm hitting a ship that carries the King of Naples, Alonso, his son Ferdinand, Alonso's brother Sebastian and other characters. In the second scene we find Miranda with her father Prospero on the shore of an island close to the shipwreck. Miranda asks her father to help the people on the ship. After Prospero confesses that he is actually responsible for the shipwreck (using his magic powers), he tells her the story of his and her past, of how they got to the island. He used to be the Duke of Milan until his brother Antonio, with the help of the King of Naples, usurped his position and he was forced to flee to the island with his daughter. After he makes Miranda fall asleep with his magic powers, he call Ariel, his spirit-servant that he sent to shipwreck Alonso's ship. In this monologue Ariel tells Prospero how he sank the ship and how he managed to get all the people on the ship to arrive on the island alive.

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